Photographic developing apparatus.



No. 834.463 PATENTED OCT. 30, 1906.

O. PENNELL. v

PHOTOGRAPHIG DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.12. 1906.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

4. lnvzwkoz B 0- 834.463 PATENTED OCT. 80, 1906. C. PBNNELL.

PHOTOGRAPHIU DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED (11111.12. 1900.

' 2 SHEETSSHEET z.

film-wanton Cas. f(7272ZZ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 30, 1906.

Application filed January 12,1906. Serial No. 296,772.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES FENNELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at-Cynthiana, in the county of Harrison and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Photogra hic Developing Apparatus, of which the foilowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for develo ing photographic films, and more particular y to that class of such apparatus .that embody a casing designed to contain the photographic films wound up upon a spool and into which the developer is introduced to act upon the film.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an a paratus of this character which will permit t e developing solution to quickly gain access to and affect all parts .of the film, so that the o eration of developing the same will. be great y expedited.

With this and other obects in view, as will more fully appear as t e description proceeds, my invention consists in the constructions, arran ements, and combinations of arts hereina ter fully described, and set forth in the ap ended claims.

For a flill description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the improvements of my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail erspective view of a partition employed. ig. 3 is a view illustrating a portion of the flexible curtainupon which the photographic film is wound. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the parts preparatory to commencing the operation of winding the photographic film and the curtain together upon one of the shafts- Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the position of the parts with the operation concluded.

Corresponding and like parts, are referred to in the followin description and indicated in all the views 0 the drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the casing of the apparatus, which is li ht-proof, and in the present instance it is o long, as shown. Its upper ed es are stepped on their inner walls, and the id 2 of the casing is correspondin ly formed to fit said edge so as to insure a ight-proof structure. The casing 1 is divided into two compartments by means of a transverse artition 3, which fits the under side of t e lid snugly, and the partition 3. may be detachable from the casing and inserted in the same in grooves or guideways 1, so as to effectively divide or separate one compartment of the casing from the other. The two compartments of the box are for convenience designated A and B.

The partition 3, it is to be especially noted, is constructed in telescopic sections, so that the lower portion may move up into or upon the upper portion to produce an o ening 4 between the compartments A and at the bottom of the casing underneath the partition in its telescopic condition. In the present instance this telescopic arrangement of the partition is provided for by constructing the partition of two spaced-apart upper members or sections 3 and a lower section 3 which is fitted between the two spaced-apart sections andis provided at its 11 per edge with an actuating rod 5, which extends through an opening 6 in the upper connecting edge of the two spaced members oi sections 3. Hence by manipulating the actuating-rod 5 the lower section 3 may be moved from its lower extended position, Where it rests upon the bottom of the casing, upwardly into the space between the other two sections 3 and produce the openin before mentioned. The actuating-rod or an die 5 also extends through a light-proof opening[ 7 in the lid 2 of the casing.

n the compartment B of the casing 1 there is mounted a transverse shaft 8, provided with an operating-handle 9 on the outside of the casing and designed to receive a curtain 10, upon which the film to be developed is wound. The curtain 10 of my invention consists in the present instance of flexible parallel strips 11, preferably of rubber, connected together with a series of transverse strips 12, preferably of metal, connected at their ends to the flexible longitudi- I nal strips 11 in any desired manner. The compartment B is provided at one end of the casing with a light-proof door 13, whose edges are preferably stepped and fit corre-' spondingly-formed edges in the wall of the casing 1. The aperture produced by opening the door 13 is intended for the insertion of the developing solution into the compartment B.

The compartment A contains a transverse shaft 14, provided at one end with a handle 15 on the outside of the casing 1, and the said compartment also contains two lugs or studs 16 and a holder 17 for the film-spool. The spool-holder is preferably secured to the partition 3 near the upper edge of the latter.

In the practical operation of my invention the curtain 10 is wound up upon its shaft in the compartment B, with the exception of one end, which is provided with hooks 18, that are engaged with the studs or lugs 16 in the compartment A, the lower end of the par-.

tition being raised, so as to permit such end of the curtain to pass under the shaft 14. The s 001 or film is then placed in the holder 17 and is wound around the shaft 14 until the ordinary protective black aper has been nearly wound up on said shaft, this point being ordinarily indicated by suitable indicia on the paper. Then the edge of the curtain 10, that has been held by the studs or lugs 16, is disengaged therefrom and is hooked upon-the shaft 14:- This 0 eration is performed thus far with the li 2 of the casing removed. The said lid 2 is now placed on the casin 1, so as to exclude all light therefrom, an the shaft 14 is again turned, so as to complete the Winding of the film thereon, while at the same time it efiects the winding of the curtain u on said shaft. This operation is continue until the entire curtain and film have been wound upon the shaft 14, it bein understood by those versed in the art to w lu'ch this invention appertains that the curtain is so interwound with the film as to efiectively protect the sensitive side of the film from scratches. The partition 3 is then extended, with its lower section close against the bottom of the casing 1, so as to exclude all light from the com artment A, and the door 13 is then opene and the developing solution poured into the compartment B. The door 13 is then a ain closed, and the partition is opened to all ow the developing solution to flow from the compartment B into the compartment A. When this has been effected, the partition 3' is again lowered to cut off communication between the two compartments, and the handle or crank of the shaft 14 is then turned until the film has been developed.

It is to be particularly noted that my invention provides an arrangement of arts whereby the curtain upon which the m is wound does not has to be of any material that will exclude actinic light, as the light is excluded from the casing 1 and from the compartment A thereof by the novel arrangement of parts. Hence the curtain 10 may be formed of any material which will admit actinic light and, as shown in the present instance, may be formed with a considerable open area, so as to permit the developin solution to gain quick access to the film an de-- 6 5 velop the same, and thereby shorten the opsenses eration of developing. While I have shown the curtain 10 as constructed of two longitudinal flexible strips connected together by spacin ebars, it is manifest that my invention is not imited thereto and that any curtain may be employed within the purview of my invention that will admit actinic light. Hence the entire surface of the film is not covered by the curtain necessarily during the operation of developing, and, as before stated, the developing solution can gain quick access to affect the sensitive Having thus described the lnvention, what is claimed as new is- 1. A developing apparatus for photographic films, comprising a light-proof casing, an adjustable partition divldmg said casing into compartments and providing a means for communication between said com artments, a spool-holder for a spool of graphic film mounted m one of sai compartments, a protective curta1n-, a shaft in said compartment, means for winding the curtain and film together upon said shaft, and means for admitting the developing solution into said compartment to act upon said film.

A developing apparatus for photographic filrhs; comprising a lightpro )fcasing, an adjustable partltlon mounted 1n said casing and designed to dlvlde the same lnto two separate and distinct compartments, a spool-holder'in one of said compartments, for a spool of photographic film, a protective curtain, means for wlnding the said curtain and. film together over the spool-holder in one of said compartments, means foradmitting a developing solution into the other compartment, and means for subsequently adjusting the partition to admit said solution from the compartment into which it is admitted to the other compartment containmgthe curtain and film.

3. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a casing, an ad ustable partition dividing said casin into two compartments, shafts in each 0 sa d compartments, a spool-holder in one of said compartments, means for adjusting said partitlon whereby to establishcommunication between the said compartments, a flexible curtain designed to be su ported on one of said shafts, a spool-holder in one of sald compartments, means for winding a hotographic film carried by said spool-hol derfrom the latter to the shaft in the same compartment and for winding simultaneously therewith the curtain on said shaft from the other shaft, and means for introducing the developing solution into one of said compartments with the partition closed and then subsequently introducing the solution into the other compartment by oeni'ng the partition between the two as and or the purpose set forth.

4. An apparatus of the character deetc-- seems scribed comprising a casing, & partition dividing said easing into two com ertinents, said partition being provided With a telescoping section whereby communication may be established between the tWo compartinents, an actuating-rod for said section, said rod extending through the top of the casing whereby the section may be raised and lowered from the outside ofthe casing, a Winding-shaft mounted in each of said coinpartinents, a spool-holder in one of said compartments, the other compartment being 7 provided with an opening for the nsertion of the developing solution and e closure for said opening, and a flexible Windin curtain which will admit actinic rays and esi ed to be Wound from one shaft to the ot er toether with a film mounted on said spoololden as and for the pur ose set forth.

In testimony whereof in presence of two Witnesses.

(ii-menus FENNELL. [11.8.]

affix my signature 2o 

